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Thursday, October 22, 2015

I have heard sofrito is to Latin and Puerto Rican cuisines as the trinity is to Cajun cuisine. So many recipes I have collected from recipe boards and Pinterest start with sofrito. As I understand it each Puerto Rican family has their own sofrito recipe. Sofrito is usually a saute of onions, garlic, peppers, cilantro and tomatoes. It is added to everything from stew to beans. I have always wanted to try it for myself. This week I decided to finally give it a try. A long time ago during an online search, I saw a menu item called Spaghetti Squash with Sofrito and Beans. There was just a description no recipe or photo. For some reason it has been in the back of my mind as something I wanted to try one day. Well now I have gone and done it. And it is really good too. I love sofrito! It adds a sweet and tangy flavor to the beans. Dear sister remarked that it was similar to caponata. The onions, peppers, garlic and tomatoes really sweeten the sauce. The olives and capers add zippy acidity. This sofrito and beans is delicious on the spaghetti squash but I think it would be great in so many other ways. I think it would be great over rice, it would make a great side, a dip with corn chips or a filling for tacos or empanadas. I look forward to more experimenting with sofrito.

Heat a 3-1/2
quart saucepan over medium high heat. Add olive oil, onion, green and red
peppers; sauté until onion is translucent. Add garlic, continue to sauté until
fragrant. Add tomatoes, cilantro, tomato sauce and seasonings, stir to combine
and bring back to a simmer. Add beans, olives and capers, cover and simmer on
low while preparing the squash. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

To prepare
spaghetti squash: Cut squash in half. Scoop out seeds and discard. Place cut
side down in a microwave safe dish, add 1/4 cup of water and cover with plastic
wrap. Microwave for 8 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes (You may have to do each
squash or half separately). When squash is cool enough to handle, pull the
squash into spaghetti like threads.Season
with salt and pepper.

To serve: Top
each spaghetti squash half with a serving of sofrito and beans. Garnish with
additional cilantro if desired.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

I told you in the previous post I baked two chickens and made several new soups this week. After making many many soups with rotisserie and baked chicken I have decided it really makes the best chicken soup. There is something about using the pre-cooked chicken that keeps it moist and tender. In my experience when you start with raw it has to cook forever to get tender. Then the veggies are over cooked. In a quick 30 minute soup like this the veggies are perfect but the chicken is usually tough and dry. So using pre-cooked chicken you get the best of both. You can cook the veggies to just the right consistency then add the perfectly cooked chicken. The results are amazing! For my second soup this week I looked to Chicken Cacciatore. I was really craving spicy tomato flavors and mushrooms. This soup really hit the spot. It is loaded with veggies like peppers, onions, mushrooms and tomatoes. The broth is rich with Italian tomato flavor and has a nice spoonable texture. It was really deliciously savory. I look forward to making it again in the future. What's funny is the photos turned out a little "Halloweenie". Don't you think? I wanted to use dear sister's slate board and the napkins she gave me. And when I looked at the photos they looked a little different or unusual. The black and white background with the green bowl full of soup looks a little spooky, almost Photoshop-ed. I didn't like it at first, but now I think I do. They seem totally appropriate for fall and Halloween. Maybe you should give this soup a try before a cool night of spooky Halloween activities?

Chicken Cacciatore Soup

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. Chicken fat (butter or olive oil)

1 onion, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp. dry sherry or wine

15 oz. can no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained

27 oz. traditional pasta sauce

4 cups fat free unsalted chicken stock

2-1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

1/2 tsp, rosemary, crushed

Kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes; to taste

Directions

In a Dutch oven, sauté the onion, and bell pepper in chicken
fat over medium high heat. Season with salt, black and red pepper; sauté until
veggies begin to soften. When onion is translucent, add mushrooms continue to sauté
until mushrooms soften and begin to brown. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. De-glaze pan with sherry.

Add tomatoes, pasta sauce, and chicken stock; bring to a
simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken and rosemary to pot and bring back to a simmer. Lower
the heat, cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Lately I have been all about chicken soup. I have made four old recipes over the past few weeks. I have also had all sorts of ideas for new recipes. So this week I baked two chickens, made stock from the bones and saved the chicken fat. Then I set out to try three new chicken soup ideas. The first recipe is sort of a copycat recipe. I was inspired by can of Progresso Light Chicken and Cheese Enchilada Soup. It is delicious! A creamy and cheesy can of comfort. What I was missing was tortillas. So I thought adding tortillas would be either noodle or dumpling like. I was right. My version is very close to the can in flavor. I started the pot with chicken fat. Why you ask? Well because I had it and two because it boosts the chicken flavor. The green and red peppers add color and Mexican flavor. The tomatoes with chipotle add a smoky chili flavor as if you used enchilada sauce. And the cheddar cheese soup is nice and cheesy without the risk of separating. Is it weird that I used another companies soup to re-create a different companies soup? Maybe? If you leave the tortillas out you have a light creamy and cheesy chicken soup like the Progresso soup. But if you add the tortillas they soften and plump up a bit in the soup. They are delicious and silky like soft noodles or dumplings. I suspect if you double the amount of tortillas you will have a really great southwest chicken and dumplings. Hey! That sounds like three recipes in one. I hope you enjoy it as much as dear sister and I did.

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

2 Tbsp. chicken fat (butter or olive oil)

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

4 cups fat-free unsalted chicken stock

10 oz. can of tomatoes with chipotle peppers

2 cans healthy request cheddar cheese soup

4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

4 small flour tortillas

Kosher salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

Directions

In a Dutch oven, sauté the onion, celery and bell pepper in chicken
fat over medium high heat. Season with salt and pepper; sauté until veggies
begin to soften. When onion is translucent and starts to get golden, add garlic
and sauté until fragrant. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for
10 minutes.

Add tomatoes, cheddar cheese soup and cream cheese to broth,
stir until soup and cream cheese is well incorporated. Add chicken to pot and
bring back to a simmer. Cut tortillas into 1" strips about 3” long, slowly
add to simmering soup. Pat down into soup, resist stirring. Taste for seasoning
and adjust if necessary. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and serve.

Monday, October 5, 2015

When I heard Chobani was looking for bloggers who would be interested in featuring their products in one of their posts I was thrilled. After all I already buy and use Chobani. I thought of all the many uses I have for their yogurt. I use it as a replacement for sour cream and as a topping. I use it in dips and dressings. I eat it for breakfast and as a sweet treat in the evenings. Then finally I use it to make all kinds of Yogurt Pies. My family has been making yogurt pie for years. It is often dessert at celebration dinners, get-togethers and holidays. So it just seemed natural that I would create a new one for Chobani's campaign.

So let me tell you a bit about Chobani's ad campaign. With football season upon us, Chobani has been named the Official Yogurt of College Football! They want to remind us not to drop the ball when it comes to staying healthy at the tailgate. So they are asking bloggers, well everyone to share healthy recipes for tailgating with the #MadeWithChobani.Most of my tailgating is done at home these days; getting together with family and friends to watch and cheer on our favorite teams. So I decided to use Chobani Flip Nutty for 'Nana Greek Yogurt to create a new Yogurt Pie. Nutty for 'Nana is a delicious Banana Low-Fat Yogurt with Honey Roasted Salted Almonds and Dark Chocolate on the side. You can flip the specially design cup to add the crunchy toppings to the creamy yogurt. Trust me it makes a delicious healthy dessert all by it's self. But I thought I would make it into a dessert for a group of college football fans. As a Louisiana Tech Alumni this house cheers for the Bulldogs. So this frozen treat will be decked out in red and blue. GO DAWGS! Now back to the pie... You can make all kinds of Yogurt Pies using #Chobani. Fresh fruit flavors or decadent ice cream flavors. With Chobani Flips you get the yogurt and a mix-in or garnish in one. Nutty for 'Nana is the perfect base for re-creating the ice flavor Chunky Monkey. You get the banana yogurt, nuts and chocolate in one carton. It made a delicious low-fat frozen dessert with all the flavor of a decadent ice cream. I decided to use the topping as a mix it; after all that is what makes the ice cream so good, all the chunky treats. I also decided to leave some of the bananas in slices too. This pie really lives up to the title of chunky.For the garnish I had to go with something with team spirit. A bag of almond M & Ms re-enforces the almond and chocolate flavors and makes it so easy to decorate this pie for your favorite team. Beside that, the brown almond M & Ms look a lot like little footballs. So print out your team pennant or mascot and garnish this Chunky Monkey Yogurt Pie for your favorite team.

Select your team colors (I used red and blue) from the bag of M & Ms. Roughly chop and set aside. Also set aside 7 brown M & Ms for garnish.Place 1/2 cup banana slices in a mixing bowl, mash with the tines of a fork. Add remaining banana slices and yogurt; fold together. Fill yogurt portion of cups with whipped topping (about 1-1/2 cups or half of the carton) gently fold whipped topping into yogurt and fruit mixture. Sprinkle in the nut and chocolate topping and gently fold together. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie in the freezer and freeze solid. When frozen, spread the top with a thin layer of hot fudge, the remaining whipped topping, chopped M & Ms in team colors and whole brown M & Ms for garnish.Note: Remove the pie from the freezer and decorate 20 to 30 minutes before you are ready to serve. That way it is thawed just a bit when it is time to serve dessert. If you forget no worries serve with forks instead of spoons.

Disclaimer: I did not receive any monetary or product compensation for this post. I purchased the products myself and all opinions are my own.Linking to:Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday

You know how everyone is using cauliflower as a substitute for everything? Well I don't know if I could ever give up rice, potatoes and grains for just cauliflower but sometimes it just works. This is definitely one of those times. I got the bright idea to take a family favorite Artichoke and Rice Salad and make it over with cauliflower. My family has been making this rice salad since dear sister and I were in 4-H. We didn't raise farm animals in 4-H. We cooked, made napkin rings and neat nighties(pajamas). We also competed in 4-H cooking contests. In fact, dear sister won a rice cookery contest with this inspiration recipe for Artichoke and Rice Salad. Now our memories are not what they use to be; so there is some debate as to where this recipe came from. I say it came from a cookbook called Pirate's Pantry that fell apart and was tossed. Dear sister said it came from one called Pots, Pans and Pioneers. I included that recipe below. One thing we agree on is we added some green olives to the recipe. The original recipe gets most of it's flavor from a box rice mix, curry powder, artichokes, green onions and olives. Since I substituted cauliflower for the rice mix; I added chicken bouillon, carrot, garlic and parsley to my salad. It works really well. I really enjoyed it. It has the same mild curry flavor but it is nice and crunchy. It has a similar texture to coleslaw. I loved the texture and flavor. This salad would be a great pot luck salad. Delicious with grilled foods or just a light lunch all by its self. Mom was really impressed and wanted the recipe. Dad tried it and said it was good. Dear sister said it was very good but her favorite is still the original rice salad. So there you go! I am giving you two salads in one post. You can choose your favorite.

Cauliflower and Artichoke Salad

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

5 cups cauliflower, florets

1 small carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1 tsp. low sodium chicken bouillon

1/2 tsp. curry powder

1/8 tsp. turmeric

1 Tbsp. parsley, chopped

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained liquid
reserved

2 green onions, sliced

1/4 cup sliced green olives with pimentos

Kosher salt, to taste (optional)

Dash white pepper, to taste

Direction

Place cauliflower and carrot in a blender. Fill blender
container with water and pulse until cauliflower resembles grains of rice.
Drain in a colander, pat dry and set aside.

About Me

I am a Louisiana girl, a licensed interior designer and I share my home with a very cute female pug. I love my family and friends. Most of all I love to cook for them.
Soup Spice Everything Nice is a blog with recipes, family recipes(mostly cajun), soup recipes, spice blends, interior design, and other nice things.